One of Northern Ireland’s biggest IT employers has reported a 60% jump in pre-tax profits to reach £10.1m in 2023.
Liberty IT, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston, also recorded 11% growth in turnover to £72.7m in accounts for 2023 which have just been published.
The business, which provides IT services and software development to the Fortune 100 insurance giant, opened its Belfast office in 1997. Liberty Mutual operates mainly in North America.
Turnover at Liberty IT, based at Adelaide Exchange in Belfast, had increased from £65.7m in 2022, while pre-tax profits were up from £6.4m.
Operating profits climbed from £6.3m to £9.8m in 2023, while employee numbers rose 8.7% to reach 712.
Cost of sales climbed from £49.7m to £51.6m, the company accounts show, with staff costs climbing from £44.9m to £50.1m.
Both production and administrative staff numbers had contributed to a 57-strong increase in headcount. There were 40 staff added to production, bringing it to 644, while numbers of administrative staff grew from 51 to 68.
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Turnover was made up of £72.7m was made up of £66.1m in fees receivable, up from £56.1m in 2022, while there was £6.6m in contractors’ revenue, a fall of just under £3m on the year before.
A strategic report filed with the accounts said: “The company continues to show strong operating profits for the period.
“Investment in new resources, projects, project delivery models and new technologies puts the company in a strong position to meet developing customer needs and embrace future technological developments within the sector.”
But in the longer term, it said that growth depended on the ability of the company to retain and attract high-quality people.
Overall, there was “sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, and the company continued to be cash generative”.
Speaking last year in an interview with Business Telegraph, managing director Tony Marron said the business now had a significant legacy in the region.
“We were definitely one of the first software engineering companies from the US in Northern Ireland,” he said.
“We’re incredibly proud because if you look at the software industry across Northern Ireland, many of the site leads are ex-Liberty IT people.”
Last month, Liberty IT announced a recruitment drive to hire 20 new intern software engineers. The posts are aimed at third level education students interested in pursuing a career in technology.
Emma Mullan, senior director of talent at Liberty IT, said: “At Liberty IT we invest heavily in the continuous learning and development of our teams at every stage of their career.”